Thursday, July 10, 2014

WHO SAYS CATHOLICS AREN'T FUN?

Okay, THAT was supposed to be the title of last week's post of a similar name. But it works out as it seems to fit well the topic that came up on a road trip yesterday.

Fr. Pf and I went to visit a friend, Fr. Miller in Pittsburgh. You know, Pittsburgh is really a great town (at least the parts in which we were.) One of the things we did was visit churches. (Sounds like a blast doesn't it? - To each his own.) At the parishes we visited there were places to light candles and to write petitions and such. At each place I would offer up prayers for St. Sebastian and that I might be a good pastor to her people.

One really cool place we visited was St. Patrick. "First in Faith!" it claimed as the first parish in the city. Here is some information on it. It's a tiny church and not all that beautiful but it was extremely interesting. When you walk in you are confronted with a giant, marble staircase. No! The stairs are not for walking! A sign an the kneeler before the stairs states, "HOLY STAIRS! Ascend on knees - ONLY!" For those who wish to get up to the church on their feet, there are lesser stairs on either side of the lobby to take you up to the Church as the sign states, "Please use stairs on either side of Front Doors." As you can see, I went up the main stairs praying for the parish and for my ministry. (Thank you Fr. Miller for taking the picture with your phone. The nave upstairs was incredibly small. Maybe it sat 60 people.)

But here was what we were discussing later as we ate lunch: Is not the Catholic imagination cool? We engage our not only our minds and souls but our very bodies in different acts of prayer. There are ALL KINDS of prayers that a person may do and some are quite imaginative. (Some also heretical so we are to be careful.) Where is the Protestant imagination to match that of the Catholic? How many ways can we bring the body into prayer such as being transported to walk along with Jesus in the Stations of the Cross? Visiting Christ in pilgrimage? Lighting a candle? Writing a petition in a petition book? Bringing flowers to a shrine? Climbing stairs on your knees - just to mention a few! How rich! How engaging! How diverse! How FUN! How Catholic!

Did you visit St. Anthony's Chapel? Home of the largest collection of relics in the world (outside of the Vatican)? A really neat place, not the least of which are some of the most beautiful stations of the cross I have ever seen (almost life size wood carvings). Maybe next time!

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

MONDAY - Monday Diary: A day in the life of a priest.TUESDAY - Quote Tuesday: A post of an interesting quote along with various other things sitting on my computer from the past week such as links, polls, pictures, videos, or games.WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY - Thoughts for your consideration either from me or guest bloggers.FRIDAY - Friday Popourri - A grab bag of regular topics from symbolism to vocation stories.